a scratched record of echoes / filtering from voided hallways / always empty / like you

this pain then / proves palpable

like the sting of fine fangs / fastened to your spine / the septic bite of some / repulsive spider

Gina Marie Bernard is a heavily tattooed transgender woman, retired roller derby vixen, and full-time high school English teacher. She lives in Bemidji, Minnesota. Her daughters, Maddie and Parker, own her heart. Her chapbook Naked, Getting Nuder was a finalist in the 2018-2019 Glass Chapbook series, and is under contract with Clare Songbirds Publications. Her chapbook Taxonomies is a finalist for Thirty West Publishing House's 2018 Chapbook Contest. Her work has recently appeared in Coffin Bell Journal, Heavy Feather Review,The Hunger, r.kv.r.y quarterly, and Spider Mirror.